Mountain Hardwear has formed an affiliated company based in Thalwil, Switzerland that will handle the sales, marketing and distribution of Mountain Hardwear products in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Mountain Hardwear will operate independently in Europe, but will utilize many of the facilities and infrastructure that has been established by Columbia Sportswear, Mountain Hardwear’s parent company.

All current Mountain Hardwear sales agencies will remain in place with the exception of Klett Sports in Germany and Austria. Dieter Klett is retiring after the upcoming Fall/Winter 2004 season after years of outdoor industry representation. In addition, all existing Mountain Hardwear distributors will remain in place but will now be supported and managed by Mountain Hardwear GmbH. Current distributors include Bradshaw Taylor that is responsible for the brand in the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Scandinavia as well as New Rock SA that distributes Mountain Hardwear products in Switzerland.

The European outdoor market has been targeted as a key area of growth for Mountain Hardwear. “Although we’re focused on growing the Mountain Hardwear brand in the United States, we’ve been slowly establishing a presence in Europe for the past several years and now with Columbia’s resources behind us, the brand is ripe for a big expansion,” reports Mark Hrubant, Mountain Hardwear’s International Sales Director. “With these changes, we are ready to offer Europe the same great customer service that we are known for in the States. We plan to take a pan-European approach to marketing and product development, catering to the unique markets across the continent.”

Products in several categories have already been developed for exclusive distribution in Europe and will be debuted at the July Outdoor tradeshow in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Among the unique offerings are the Volcano series of synthetic sleeping bags made with Dupont Themolite and the Refuge two-person Superlight tent, a technical, all-season tent with superb interior space. In addition, Mountain Hardwear is offering an expanded international line of technical apparel, outerwear, tents, sleeping bags and accessories.

“With the increased involvement of our European sales agencies and distributors over the last several years, the line as a whole has been greatly influenced by their needs and tastes. If you compared the line five years ago with the line today, you would realize the newer products have a decidedly global look to them. For instance the new PacLite Swift Jackets and Pants are currently being introduced in both Europe and the US – the colors and the styling are very continental, but they are doing well here too,” said Mike Wallenfels VP of marketing and Sales for US. “The outdoor market is becoming more of a global market than ever before.”